Larger Community Joins BPC Seniors in Nationwide 'No Kings' Demonstration

Demonstrators line the center island at Warren and North End Avenue, joining the nationwide No Kings call for political action on Saturday. Photo: Carl Glassman/Tribeca Trib

Demonstrations are nothing new for a group of political activists at The Capstone, the senior residence in Battery Park City. They have staged modest, ad hoc No Kings protests against Trump policies in the past. But last Saturday was different, with well over 100 people, many from the wider community, joining in. 

“I thought it would be fun to put ourselves on the map, to be part of the larger effort,” said Bob Soliton, 88, who had registered the event, for the first time, as one of more than 1,500 official No Kings demonstrations around the country, many focused on early voting ahead of the midterm elections. Looking around at the sign-carrying demonstrators in front of The Capstone, 455 North End Ave., he pronounced himself  “stunned’ at the turnout, and by the presence of the five cops who stood chatting casually around a nearby patrol car. 

“I wasn’t expecting police protection,” he said with a smile. “That was a nice surprise.”

“We’ve got power. We’ve got choice. Raise your voice!” they chanted.

Standing at the corner of Warren and North End Avenue, Barbara Sprung, 92, and Barbara Greenfield, 91, held a banner that read, “Seniors Want Our Democracy Back. No More Ice!!” 

“You can see how many more people we have by reaching out to the neighborhood for like-minded souls, and it’s worked,” said Sprung, who is one of the organizers of The Capstone’s resident activist group, Senior Action to Save Democracy. “People are fired up, to say the least.” (The organization is not affiliated with The Capstone.)

As a leading civil rights activist with the Student Non-Violent Co-Ordinating Committee (SNCC) in the 1960s, Roger Abramson said he wishes he could be more active now. But at 92, he said, it’s difficult. 

“I like the idea that at least I'm doing something,” he said. 

Tom Coffee, 68, who lives in Battery Park City but not at The Capstone, held a small sign reminiscent of another era. “Love Is Love,” it proclaimed.

“I want to be positive. There’s too much hate in the world,” he said.

As a former New York Times editor, journalistic ethics prevented Coffee from demonstrating until three years ago, when he retired. Now, he said, “it feels good to be able to express my opinion.”

Hearing demonstrators sing “We Shall Overcome,” he recalled that “it’s like, man, you know, they’ve been doing that all my life, and we don’t overcome, and it’s really frustrating.” 

“But,” he added, “you gotta keep up the fight.”